Lets talk about the blues scale. For the saxophone player, a very important tool. And when used in the right places, a very hip sounding tool.
I like to identify blues scales in two forms, a Major blues scale and the more traditional Minor blues scale. Here is the breakdown. A Minor blues scale is the tried and true scale that you find in Aebersold books like Maiden Voyage. It is literally a Minor pentatonic scale with an added sharp 5. In the key of C it would look like this;
C (1) Eb(b3) F(5) F#(#5) G(6) Bb(b7) C
The Major blues scale is a little different. It is a Major pentatonic with a flat 3.
In C it looks like this;
C(1) D(2) Eb(b3) E(3) G(5) A(6) C(1)
Below I have a couple of sets of Major and Minor blues scales. Download them and groove on them! There are also a couple of videos that will help to understand their usage. Check them out and enjoy!
Changes for Freddie;
Here are a series of videos on the blues scales.
For Bb instruments-
Its me!
